Canada confirms Trans Pacific Partnership deal reached

The 11 remaining members of the Trans Pacific Partnership have reached a deal and Ottawa is prepared to sign it, Canada’s international trade minister confirmed Tuesday.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that Canada and the 10 other remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership concluded discussions in Tokyo, Japan, on a new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),” Francois-Philppe Champagne said in a media statement issued Tuesday.

“We are happy to confirm the achievement of a significant outcome on culture as well as an improved arrangement on autos with Japan, along with the suspension of many intellectual property provisions of concern to Canadian stakeholders.”

Member countries have been talking about the future of the TPP trade pact since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the multilateral deal last January.

Canada was accused of scuttling efforts to reach a final deal in November during meetings on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau missed a high-level ministerial meeting.

Trudeau told attendees at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday the TPP-11 deal is an example of how progressive trade deals can be reached despite rising anti-trade sentiments.

“We’re seeing a lot of trade skepticism around the world in general, right now. People are worried – or increasingly have become convinced that trade deals benefit the few, not the many,” Trudeau said.

“There were difficult negotiation, I think a number of people remember the challenges we faced in Vietnam, but we knew that if we were going to move forward on a trade deal, we have to demonstrate convincingly that it’s in the best interest of our citizens – that it can really be a win-win-win for all partners.

The TPP, the prime minister said “is an example…that you can move forward, but you need to include the things that citizens care about if you’re going to get support for trade. ”

Earlier this month, Australian and Japanese officials had said they were prepared to sign a TPP-11 deal with or without Canada in March.

The Canadian government had been under increased pressure from business leaders and industry groups to sign the TPP. Many export-dependent industries in Canada, including the agriculture sector, see the pact as a safety net in the event that NAFTA talks fall apart.

“This is fantastic news,” Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Trade Alliance President Brian Innes said of the TPP deal. “The future for Canada’s globally competitive agri-food exporters looks a lot brighter now that we will have competitive access to key markets in the Asia-Pacific and especially Japan.”

Speaking to reporters in Toronto Tuesday afternoon, Champagne said the newly signed TPP deal will help diversify Canada’s trading markets and benefit all sectors of the Canadian economy, including agriculture.

The new CPTPP deal, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a statement Tuesday evening, is “great news for Canadian farmers and processors.”

The deal, he added, “will give the Canadian agricultural industry preferential access to all CPTPP countries and will provide new market access opportunities for a wide range of Canadian products, including meat, grains, pulses, maple syrup, wines and spirits, seafood and agri-food products.”

Later in the day Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne weighed in saying a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership must not come at the expense of key Ontario sectors, including the auto industry.

Wynne says she has heard concerns from many in the automotive sector over the course of TPP negotiations.

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What happened to the governments bottom line to have the TPP reflect Canada’s progressive trade ideology land include human rights, gender, environment, and labour. Did we capitulate on this and decided to abandon this pursuit? Perhaps the media could dig deeper to inform us?